Pana of the Month
by LordByronMudkippington
Summary: Hanayo's getting ready for her first date with hot model Maki by completely panicking. She's just gotta believe in herself, like Kotori tells her... before she falls asleep, anyway. A pseudo-sequel to Centerfold and a late happy b-day to Hanayo. [Art by banana-moon-moon]


"Oh Gods, this is a disaster!" Hanayo tugged nervously on her sleeves, pacing around the living room of her shared apartment in a panic. On the couch, Kotori sat on the middle cushion with a sympathetic but tired expression. She had told Hanayo that she'd help out with her little date problem, but now that the clock had passed midnight, all she wanted to do was flop down on the couch and fall asleep. "Somebody help me!"

"Hanayo dear, I've been helping you for the past three hours now." Maybe these things just seemed easier to her because she'd found the love of her life in high school, so she didn't have to worry about the perils of university dating. At the same time, she was somewhat frustrated that Hanayo had spent nearly three weeks having constant panic attacks over the date that she was soon to go on with Maki. It never seemed to cease, no matter what advice she gave. "Plus all those other hours for the last three weeks. You haven't taken any of my advice."

"I know, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Hanayo stopped her pacing, but she didn't look any less nervous. "This is just the scariest day of my life! I can't believe Maki agreed to go on a date with me. _The_ Nishikino Maki! This is awful! I don't have anything special to offer someone like her! She's going to hate me for wasting her time!" The shock of meeting the model she'd been ogling in her less-savory magazines had legitimately caused her to faint. Yet somehow, despite passing out right in front of her, Maki had been totally cool about it. She'd even agreed to go on a date. A date! What mania had possessed her to even ask such a thing? She still didn't know whether to thank Nozomi or try to evict her from their apartment.

"If she felt that you were wasting her time, she wouldn't have agreed to the date." Kotori yawned and laid down on the couch, shutting her eyes. "Just have confidence in yourself, and let her lead. She seems like the kind of person who likes being in control anyway. You're gonna do great, Hanayo. I love you. Knock her dead." She gave Hanayo a thumbs up, quickly slipping into unconsciousness.

"Kotori, don't go to sleep! I still have questions!" It was too late, though. Kotori was already out of it. Sighing, Hanayo lowered herself to the ground and laid back on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. This was absolutely a disaster and a half. Confidence? She'd never met her. If only Nozomi could transfer her some of her spiritual powers. She'd been nervous, which she had admitted, when going to see her former high school crush, and they'd ended up doing... things that she wished she didn't hear. It'd all worked out for her. If only Hanayo could feel the same about her own future...

Her date was tomorrow. Maki had said she'd be there around noon to pick her up, so Hanayo had less than twelve hours now to think about her imminent doom. What did she even know about Maki? Well, she was an insanely hot model, a university student... and she liked tomatoes. Damn, if all she knew about her date was what was in her Playboy bio, she was in trouble. Where was a real life 'get out of jail free' card when she needed it?

She ended up falling asleep on the floor, her entire night filled with troubled dreams. It kept waking her up, but not enough to gain her any energy, so she kept falling back into restless sleep. She dreamed of failed dates, of being mocked and laughed at, and even walking outside without her pants. Her troubled slumber finally ended just as Maki was starting to laugh at her underwear, yellow and adorned with rice balls.

Sitting up with a start, she gasped aloud, feeling like she was covered in a cold sweat. She grabbed the hem of her shorts and pulled them down a bit, breathing a sigh of relief when she realized she wasn't wearing that embarrassing pair of underwear. Then she pulled her phone out to look at the time, and her relief quickly pivoted towards terror: it was five past ten. Maki would be there in less than two hours.

Jumping up, she began babbling desperately as she ran to her room, nearly slamming into the door in her haste. She flung open the door and rushed into her closet, trying to find the clothing that she and Kotori had decided would look the best on her. They had been delicately hung on hangers, but she still nearly missed them regardless. She was about to grab them, but then thought about any potential damage they could take when brought into the bathroom. What if they got wrinkled or wet? That wouldn't do at all.

She didn't like to shower without a change of clothes at the ready. Unlike her roommates, she wasn't all that comfortable walking around in just a towel and showing off to God and country. Desperate times called for desperate measures, though. Hopefully her time-induced panic would outweigh her embarrassment. Or maybe they'd join forces in order to destroy her.

Abandoning her room, she went to the bathroom and pulled the door open, only to be greeted by the shower already being occupied by a very naked Nozomi. Squeaking loudly, she covered her eyes and went bright red. "Nozomi! You left the door unlocked again!"

"Oh, whoops." Nozomi poked her head out of the shower, grinning cheekly. Of course she held no embarrassment from this. The queen of the 'free breast exam' had no need to feel shame. Except when it came to Eli, apparently. "I'm almost done, Panacchi. Unless you want to come join me."

"No no, I'm okay!" She escaped from the bathroom and slammed the door shut, sinking down to the floor. Tears felt like they were going to burst forth and leave her wailing. How was she supposed to do this? She hadn't showered, her hair was a mess, and she was supposed to go on a date with a model. A model! She wanted to die, at least to spare Maki the disappointment.

All the commotion apparently woke Kotori up, as she ambled over to Hanayo and sat down, putting an arm around her shoulder. "Hanayo, it's going to be okay. You worry too much."

"How can I not worry?!" Hanayo whimpered out, tears prickling the corners of her eyes. "I'm going to make a fool of myself and I'll never be able to look at Playboy again! ... Wait, that isn't what I meant."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that either." Kotori giggled and gave Hanayo a quick hug. "Just be yourself. That's all you can do. It's what I did with Umi, and that's what Nozomi did with Eli. If it's meant to be, it'll work out. If it doesn't, then she doesn't deserve you anyway." Seeing Hanayo smile, however slightly, made her smile too. "Besides, you have an entire Playboy magazine to look through. There'll be another girl to schlick to."

"Articles, Kotori! Articles!" At that moment, the bathroom door opened, and Nozomi looked down at them in nothing but a towel. Kotori lazily looked up, while Hanayo did her best to look at anything else.

"Alright, you can use the shower now, Panacchi! Oh, is Kotori joining you too?"

"N-No!"

* * *

Hanayo had eventually gotten ready for her date. She'd showered and endured the embarrassment of having to hurry over to her room in just a towel, with Nozomi querying if she wanted a picture taken to use 'for Maki in the future'. She'd gotten changed into her carefully chosen outfit, and then she'd spent ten minutes standing by the door, staring through the peephole. Her hands were shaking and there was sweat forming on her forehead. She was going to kill herself with worry before Maki even got there.

"Remember what I said, Hanayo. Just be yourself, and it'll be fine." Kotori came over and patted Hanayo's shoulder, smiling at her. "It'll be fine." She got Hanayo to smile again, until there was a knock on the door. Hanayo nearly jumped right out of her shoes, rendering Kotori's assurances useless. She looked like her entire body had obtained primo rigor mortis, leaving her incapable of opening the door. "Pull it together, Hanayo!" she whispered, staring right into Hanayo's eyes.

"I-I can't open the door, Kotori..."

"Yes you can! You want this date. You got this date. Show Maki what a Koizumi is made of!"

"Rice and fear..."

"Except for those things." At that point, Hanayo's nerves worked towards her opening the door, since she began internally panicking about Maki waiting out there forever, wondering what was going on. Swallowing her sickening shyness, she unlocked the door and opened it. It was indeed Maki standing there, looking ridiculously good in what was likely an expensive outfit. Hanayo immediately felt underdressed and lesser in comparison.

"Good afternoon, Hanayo. You look very nice today." Did she? Hanayo was sure that wasn't the case. Compared to Maki, she was an absolute troglodyte. She was unworthy to stand in that radiant light. Maki's attention then turned to Kotori. "And you must be... Ah, I'm blanking on your name." She snapped her fingers, trying to recall Kotori's name. "Eli said you sleep a lot."

"Or you can just call me Kotori." She didn't seem offended, though. Smiling softly, she waved in Maki's direction. "I hope you'll be taking care of our little Hanayo." That made Hanayo blush, looking over at Kotori with an almost offended expression. That sort of 'Mommm, don't embarrass me!' look.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of her." Maki smiled back, then gazed between their shoulders. "Is Nozomi here?"

"She left not that long ago. I think she was going to visit Eli," Kotori responded.

"Oh good. Guess I won't be going back to the apartment tonight." Maki rolled her eyes and offered her hand to Hanayo. "Well? Shall we go?" Hanayo stared at Maki's hand like she was being offered the holy grail. Eventually she realized how much of a goober she looked like, and she tentatively took her hand. Maki smiled at her, which made her feel a little reassured. Then the two of them began to walk away from the apartment and towards the parking lot.

"Have fun! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Kotori called out cheerfully.

"That's a lot of things we can do, then!" Maki shot back, making Kotori wonder if that was some sort of quip, or if Maki actually knew about her bedroom habits. Nozomi better not have snitched on her...

* * *

Hanayo was flabbergasted when they got into the parking lot and she saw Maki's car. She should have expected to see something so fancy: a bright red sports car, looking so out of place among all the normal cars around it. She'd never been in a car like that, though, so she felt she had to be extra careful not to damage anything. She'd never opened a door that carefully in her life, and when she sat down, she kept her feet up in the air, lest the dirt she'd accumulated on her soles sully the beautiful interior.

"Are you ready to go?" Maki looked over at her, and Hanayo felt like she was being scrutinized. Maybe it was just a natural look for those lovely eyes. "I hope it's alright that I picked where we're going on our date, since you're the one who asked me out."

"It's alright. I liked your idea." Truth be told, Hanayo had actually been dreading coming up with a place to go on their date. First and foremost, she didn't have a car: her roommates or public transit was how she got around. Having Kotori be their driver would've been so awkward. As for where they'd go on their date, she'd been obsessing over the perfect place every day until Maki brought up her own suggestion. Was a movie and dinner too cliche? Was a concert too big - and too expensive - for a first date? She hadn't said it, but she was wholly relieved when Maki had stepped up to the plate.

Maki's idea brought forth a new set of anxieties, though. She'd never gotten a professional massage before. Apparently Maki had thought she needed something 'relaxing' due to her fainting spell, though she had a feeling that anything involving the two of them in the same room wearing just towels was not going to help her relax. That was just a guess, though. A very educated guess.

She didn't understand how Maki could be so comfortable with strangers putting their hands all over her. It made her want to panic, and they hadn't even gotten there yet. What if their masseuses started judging her for her appearance? She wasn't exactly Japan's next top model or anything. And what about those 'happy endings' she kept reading about online? Were they really going to... do _that_ to her? In front of Maki? She would _not_ be happy, rest assured!

"Are you alright? You've been pretty quiet." Maki's voice broke her from her thoughts. She looked over, suddenly captivated by Maki's immense beauty. She just looked so damn good. Like an unfair amount of beauty. She was wearing a sweet pair of sunglasses, even though it was overcast outside. She really could be the poster girl for 'too cool to care'.

"S-Sorry, I was just... thinking about the massage." Now that she wasn't wrapped up in her thoughts, she was also now aware of how fast they were going. Maki was really booking it to the parlor. Hopefully they didn't die in a fiery explosion, though maybe that wouldn't be so bad. She wouldn't have a chance to embarrass herself any more on their date if that was the case.

"It's your first time getting one, isn't it?" Hanayo nodded slowly. "That's alright. I think you'll enjoy it. They're very relaxing." Showcasing her own relaxation, Maki leaned back against her seat, leaving one hand on the wheel and Hanayo on edge. "I like to come here and get one every so often."

"Are you stressed often?" She hoped that wasn't too personal, but Maki didn't seem to mind.

"Sometimes. Being a model isn't all fun and games. There's a lot of different personalities you have to deal with." Maki huffed, and even with her sunglasses on, Hanayo felt like she could _feel_ Maki rolling her eyes. "And I dislike all of them. I wish I could just... pop off their heads like cherries." She stretched out her arm and made a 'popping' motion with her fingers, which made Hanayo laugh. It was sort of violent, but it showed a different side of Maki than the cool and caustic girl she'd seen so far. Though maybe it still fell under that 'caustic' part.

"What about Eli? You two are friends, right?"

"Yeah, she's the one I can tolerate the most. We just kind of... click, I guess. I'm not sure how to explain it, but we're friends. You always need one person to watch your back." There was a lot to the model industry that Hanayo was unaware of. It cast her Playboys in a completely new light. "Well, we're almost there." They were? Hanayo looked out the window and saw the massage parlor Maki had told her about. They really _were_ there. Apparently the speed limit was just a suggestion for Maki.

Maki parked the car and both of them got out, with Hanayo looking up at the sign nervously. She wasn't prepared for this, but there really was no way to be truly prepared. Hopefully she wouldn't say or do anything stupid and make Maki regret the entire day. Taking a deep breath, she followed Maki into the building, taking everything in. It had a very nice-looking atmosphere, with marble-white fountains and pillars. She had a feeling something like this was way out of her price range. Hopefully her wallet could take the critical hit.

"Ah, Miss Nishikino. So glad to see you again." The woman at the front desk smiled as they approached, looking from Maki to Hanayo. "And you've brought a friend."

"This is Hanayo. She's my date." Hanayo waved shyly, blushing at Maki out and out saying they were on a date. The woman seemed surprised, but bounced back chipper as ever

"Well isn't that just sweet? Will you be having your usual today?" Maki nodded, and the woman gestured towards the hallway to their left. "You two will be in room ten. Your masseuses will be with you shortly." Both of them thanked her, then walked down the hall, with Hanayo following Maki. Her nervousness was increasing exponentially with each step they took towards the room. Everything looked so grand... She was way out of her element. Would Maki realize she was so out of place? She admittedly knew little about her. Maybe she really wanted someone who was more like her.

When they entered the room, Maki immediately started walking towards another door. "Over here's the changing room. There are hangers in there for your clothes, so just leave them there." Maki opened the door and walked inside, shutting it behind her before Hanayo could get a good view of what was inside. Now she was left alone and nervous. This really was happening. She was really going to go in there and walk back out in just a towel. This was the most intimate thing she had ever done that didn't include Nozomi and a bottle of scotch.

When Maki came out, she forgot about being nervous, or where she was. Try as she might, she couldn't stop herself from drinking in every gorgeous inch of Maki, wrapped so snugly and so perfectly in a fluffy white towel. It was like a shot from a modeling job come to life, but without the cameras. There was nothing but them, lavender-scented candles, and two intimidating-looking tables that they were supposed to be laying down on. She really hoped she wasn't completely obvious with her ogling, but she had a feeling that hope was for naught.

Tentatively she walked over to Maki, trying not to think about the way her breasts pushed teasingly against the towel. Maki stepped to the side, and Hanayo walked into the room, slowly closing the door behind her. She took another deep breath, trying to relax herself. There were quite a few hangers dangling from two long bars and a chair, but that was all there was in the room. She stripped herself down to her bra and panties, figuring she could at least keep those on. It'd be even worse if she couldn't.

She carefully folded her clothing, not wanting to get any wrinkles on her good outfit. Even in a room by herself, she felt hopelessly exposed. Probably because Maki was just outside the door. She grabbed her own towel and wrapped it around her body, but then she noticed Maki's clothes hanging impeccably. Curious, and with no way for Maki to know, she walked over and took a look.

Just as she expected, her clothing had the logos of rather expensive brands, confirming Maki's tastes. Her eyes then traveled from her dress to the next hanger, her breath catching in her throat. There shouldn't have been another hanger needed: not with Maki having worn just a dress. Alas, there was, and Hanayo's breath came back in short, rapid bursts when she saw red panties and a matching bra hanging there.

Her first thought was not as pure as she hoped. Then again, it wasn't easy to remain innocent when she could just grab and sniff the panties of the hot model she'd been crushing on. She was not going to do it, but it was tempting... Wow, she really shouldn't be thinking like that. Bad thoughts, bad thoughts. She had to switch over the _other_ bad thoughts: that Maki wasn't wearing any underwear. It would've been totally called for if she started screaming.

They were actually supposed to get naked? Like, completely naked? Hanayo looked down at herself and felt lots of embarrassment and body issues all at once. Maybe she didn't have to. Would they even notice underneath the towel? Ah, but if they did, would they tell her she needed to remove it? They'd say that out loud, in front of Maki. Maybe that 'dinner and a movie' cliche would've been a better choice. No, it absolutely would've been a better choice.

Sighing in resignation, she dropped her towel so that she could remove her bra and panties, feeling even more exposed than before as she hung the garments up. Even her underwear was less fancy than Maki's. Did it mean something that she was dressed to the nines even beneath her dress? If she thought about that anymore, she would certainly pass out in the dressing room, and she had locked it, so she wouldn't be saved until it was too late. Wait, how long had she been deliberating on this?

Hurriedly, she grabbed her towel and wrapped it tightly around herself, making sure to tie it properly so it wouldn't accidentally fall off. Then she opened the door, seeing that there were two new people in the room, along with Maki. They must've been the masseuses. She really had taken a long time... Maki smirked slightly when she saw Hanayo. "I thought you might have passed out again."

"S-Sorry," she whimpered, shutting the door and looking around awkwardly. She didn't know if she was supposed to go lay down on the tables or wait to be instructed by the masseuses. Was there a certain table she was supposed to lay on, or did it not matter? This was one hell of a first date. "Uh..."

"Just lay down on whichever table you want. They'll do the rest." Maki's smirk turned into an easy smile, and Hanayo felt slightly more at ease. Slightly. She nodded and walked slowly towards the tables, not wanting to take any risks that would make her towel fall off. She decided to take the table closest to her, lifting herself onto it in an awkward way. This time she was trying to avoid any accidental flashing. This was a lot more work than she expected.

In the table was a hole, which she figured was where she was supposed to rest her face. She laid her arms at her side and put her face into the hole, staring down at the ground. It was basically spotless, like they had just cleaned it before they came in. Though there wasn't anything to look at now except for the floor, which was kind of boring. If only they had put a TV down there or something.

She couldn't hear anything outside of her own breathing, so she wasn't sure if Maki had laid down or not. When she felt the masseuse's hands press into her back, she had to assume that Maki was lying down and getting the same treatment. It felt... well, it felt good. She let out an unintentional groan of satisfaction, which got a chuckle out of Maki. Yup, she was lying down.

"It feels good, doesn't it?"

"Yeah..." It really did. Her masseuse really had magic hands. She could feel a lot of tension she didn't even realize she had washing away just like that. She wondered if she was supposed to make conversation while they were like this. All she could see was the floor, which made conversing a bit awkward. She didn't want to seem disinterested, though. What was she supposed to do?

"Is this the first date you've been on?" Maki once again took the charge with some straight-to-the-point questions. She didn't want to lie, but would it make her seem lame and inexperienced if she said she hadn't? Well, it was probably bad if she had to start lying on the first date...

"Y-Yeah."

"I guess this must be an odd first date, then." She laughed, and Hanayo wished she could see her face, because it must've been beautiful. "I'm not much of a movie buff. This is more my speed. Modeling takes enough of my energy already." So she liked her life slow paced, then? Thank goodness. Hanayo's life was a glacier. "And don't worry, our date is on me."

"A-Are you sure?"

"Of course. I just got paid, so it's no problem." Well, at least her wallet wouldn't vanish from existence. She still felt somewhat bad that she wasn't contributing. She could pay for the next date... if there was one, anyway. It wasn't good to assume that kind of stuff.

"Have... Have you been on any dates?" She normally wouldn't have asked that question, but the massage was starting to feel really good. Her body was becoming more and more relaxed, which loosened her tongue a bit as well. She was sure that Maki had gone on plenty of dates before, but the question just slipped out. If only her masseuse's hands didn't feel so good against her neck. Maki took a moment before answering.

"I've been on a couple of dates, yes. They were when I first started university, though. They..." She paused, leaving Hanayo hanging. She couldn't see Maki's face, so she didn't know what was going on. "They just didn't work out. So I don't go around looking for dates or anything." There was something in the pauses that gave Hanayo pause. She felt like Maki was holding information back, but she wasn't sure what it was. It obviously had to do with these dates, but she didn't want to pry. They barely knew each other.

The rest of the massage went well. She felt very relaxed when it was all said and done, and there wasn't even one of those 'happy endings' to freak her out. When they were done, they both went into the changing room - separately - to put their clothes back on, then Maki tipped the two masseuses. After that, they were out the door and heading out of the building. It was when they almost left that Hanayo remembered they were supposed to pay for the massage in general.

"Maki, aren't we supposed to pay for this?"

"It already is. They have my credit card on file."

"Oh..."

"I have a lot of stress in my life."

* * *

"Would you like to go stargazing with me?" That question would have been surprising enough for Hanayo, since she was sure that the massage would be their entire date. What was more surprising was that it came out of the blue as Maki was driving Hanayo home. They were about halfway there when it was asked, but there were certain signs that Hanayo had gathered that maybe Maki had been deliberating on the question for longer than it seemed. She had noticed looks of concentration on Maki's face when she felt confident enough to look over, and they weren't even going thirty kilometers over the speed limit.

"I... I would love to, but isn't it..." She looked out the window at the clear blue sky. "... a little too early?" Maki chuckled and tapped her fingers on the steering wheel.

"Yes, I know. I can drop you off and then come pick you up when it gets dark." Well, that made sense. Hanayo agreed, and Maki resumed her speeding ways. When they got back to the apartment, they said their goodbyes with the promise of meeting again that night. As she watched Maki drive away, Hanayo began to count all the hours she had left to completely panic about the continuation of their date. She hadn't made a fool of herself yet, but now there was more time for her to do it.

Kotori was surprised to see Hanayo home that early. Probably because she was snuggled up on the couch with Umi and watching TV. "You're home early," she quipped, while Umi looked away in mild embarrassment. "Was she a bitch?"

"Wh-What? No! She's great! We're, uh, going stargazing tonight, that's all."

"Ooh, how romantic!" Kotori squealed happily and pushed off the covers from her lap, running over to give Hanayo a hug. "Sounds like it went well, then!"

"Y-Yeah, it did." Hanayo looked down at the floor, twiddling her thumbs together. "I'm just worried that it's not going to go well..."

"Oh Hanayo... C'mon, come sit down." Kotori took Hanayo's hand and led her to the couch, making her sit down before taking her own spot next to Umi. "Why do you think it won't go well?" Hanayo let out a quiet whine, looking over at Umi. She didn't know how much she wanted to say in front of Kotori's often-elusive girlfriend. Umi just shrugged, so she decided 'eh, might as well'.

"I just feel out of her league still. She's a model, and she's definitely rich. Really, uh, attractive. I don't even know why she agreed to go on a date with me." Those self-deprecating thoughts had plagued Hanayo ever since they'd first agreed to go on a date, and they hadn't ceased just because she couldn't call the first part of their first date a failure. She'd always have time to completely ruin it.

"Well maybe you're what she's looking for. She's probably not interested in dating some rich, skinny as a rail model. If she hangs around them all the time, don't you think she would've gotten with one of them by now?"

"She did say the couple of dates she'd been on hadn't worked out." Kotori's words held some truth. After all, she hung around super hot ladies every working day, but apparently they all annoyed her. There was just Eli, who she 'tolerated', which Hanayo could only assume that was equivocal to friendship, and Eli was dating Nozomi. So maybe that really wasn't her type.

"See? Exactly!" Kotori smiled triumphantly, patting Hanayo on the shoulder. "And think about it. Stargazing is such a romantic thing. Do you think she'd invite you to do that if she didn't want to go on another date?"

"Well, no, but-"

"So there you go! Just keep being yourself, because it sounds like she likes that. Just sit here and watch TV with us. You won't have to worry about messing up the date. Let TV be your distraction. That's fine, right Umi?" Umi again shrugged, leaning back against the couch. Kotori giggled and hugged Umi's arm, giving Hanayo a quick smile before splitting most of her time between the TV and kissing Umi either on the arm or the cheek. Hanayo could specifically hear Umi mutter, "Not in front of your roommate..." but it appeared to be of no avail. She just blushed and pretended it wasn't happening.

Kotori was probably right. Worrying would just make things worse, but it was tough for her not to. She'd been a professional worrier for the longest time. It was hard to just not do it. There was lots of logic in what Kotori had said, though. Maybe her quiet, unmodel-like self was what Maki looked for in a prospective partner. That at least gave her a little bit of confidence. She quietly thanked Kotori by not bringing notice to the fact that she was trying to get frisky with Umi right in front of her. Poor Umi... or maybe poor herself.

She only watched TV with the two lovebirds for an hour before escaping to the comforts of her own room. The next handful of hours were spent worrying, playing Animal Crossing, eating dinner, and having some quality Playboy article reading time. Time seemed to pass rather slowly, and she kept checking her phone as if that would magically speed up time. She didn't know whether she wanted the next part of their date to get there quicker or not get there at all.

Eventually there was a knock on the door, which Hanayo answered without any hesitation this time. She had been standing in front of the door for ten minutes, pacing and tapping her foot anxiously. This time they didn't spend much time standing there and exchanging pleasantries. They said hi, then Hanayo said bye to Kotori and left the apartment. She wasn't even sure Maki had noticed Umi was there.

She wanted to try and start conversations, but she couldn't get herself to speak. This time Maki wasn't speaking much either, and they drove on in relative silence. Hanayo wasn't sure what to make of that, but it made her nervous.

They ended up driving to a forested area, though that wasn't the intended destination. Once they got out of the car, Maki led Hanayo to a hill in front of the forest edge, which they both trekked up. When they got to the top, Maki laid out a blanket she had taken from the backseat and laid down on top of it. Hanayo followed suit, looking up at the night sky. It was a lot clearer out there than from her apartment. The stars were a lot more visible.

"Wow..." Hanayo whispered, looking over at Maki. She was looking up at the stars with an easygoing smile on her face. It was so pure, it stunned her into silence. Then again, she'd been pretty much silent the entire drive over, so it wasn't that hard to get that going.

"The stars are beautiful out here, aren't they?" Maki looked over at Hanayo as well, the two of them making eye contact. "I like to come out here because it's clearer than from my apartment. Too many lights." Hanayo nodded in agreement, having been thinking the same thing. Not that she was much of a stargazer. Maki was the biggest star she'd ever gazed at, and she absolutely would never say that out loud.

They laid out there in silence, but this time it was a more comfortable silence. Or at least it was less uncomfortable. Something like that. Hanayo wished she knew the smooth thing to do. She didn't know the proper protocol for a first date, so she didn't want to do anything that would be uncouth. Maybe she just needed to be quiet and things would work themselves out. She looked over again and found Maki looking at her, which made her squeak in surprise.

"I'm glad that you wanted to come stargazing with me. Eli was never interested in it, so I always came here alone." Her smile held a hint of sadness, which made Hanayo frown. Again, there was something there, but she wasn't sure what it was. "I appreciate it."

"I'm happy you asked me to come. I didn't expect it." She gazed back up at the stars, watching them twinkling in her vision. Overall, this had been really nice. She'd never expected to meet Maki at all. She just figured she'd read her magazines and that was that. So that was surprising enough, but to actually be able to go on a date with her was incredible. It was more than she could've ever imagined, so she finally realized that she needed to calm down and enjoy the moment. The likelihood of them going on another date, or even seeing each other again, was slim. It had taken her way too long to come to that obvious realization. At least she could look back on the day fondly in the future.

She turned to look at Maki again, only to find out that she had closed the gap between them. There was barely enough time to register surprise before she felt warm lips against her own. That sent her mind into overdrive, freezing her in place as Maki's lips left as quickly as they'd come. Maki was staring at her with an intense but curious expression. "Wow..."

"Too soon?" Maki seemed surprisingly unsure for someone who had just kissed her out of the blue.

"Perfect," Hanayo whispered back, slowly regaining the ability to move her body. "So I... guess the date's going well, then?"

"You could say that." Laughing, Maki took Hanayo's hand and held it. "This has been... comforting. I've never been on a date with someone like you. It's been nice." She bit her lip, pausing before speaking again. "I'd like to go on another date with you, if... if you want to."

"Really? You... with me? You want to?" Hanayo realized she was talking like a buffoon, making her shut up real quick. Not trusting herself to say something intelligent, she just nodded vigorously, which brought a big smile to Maki's face. She leaned in and gave Hanayo another kiss, which she had the presence of mind to reciprocate this time.

"Yes, with you. Just being out here with you, I've gotten a good feeling. I'd like to do this again. Maybe we can have that cliche date, if you want." Hanayo giggled, squeezing Maki's hand. She was absolutely elated to hear that Maki had a good time with her. It made her worries wash away, replaced by temporary confidence. She was being asked on a second date! Nozomi and Kotori would never believe it.

"I'd like that." With her temporary confidence, Hanayo leaned over and initiated a kiss with Maki. This was definitely, without a doubt, the best day of her life.


End file.
